A Failing Grade: Sexual Abuse In School Settings
A Failing Grade: Sexual Abuse In School Settings
A Devastating Breach of Trust.
Any and every type of sexual violence is wrong. Yet, in certain situations, there is an added layer of hurt. When a survivor knows and trusts (or should be expected to trust) a perpetrator, a breach can compound what is already a traumatic experience.
Teachers and school staff are supposed to be trustworthy individuals. We ask them to act "in loco parentis" (in place of parents) for a significant portion of our children's waking hours, and understand that their work is to shape young minds - not only in terms of academics, but also by instilling values that support societal goals.
Most teachers understand the imbalance of power they have over students and conduct themselves ethically, and with integrity and professionalism. Some, unfortunately, do not.
Sexual Abuse in Schools: By the Numbers.
In a 2022 study, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) examined five year's worth of disciplinary records, media sources, and criminal case law.
It found 252 current or former school personnel in Canadian schools (kindergarten to Grade 12) that "committed or were accused of committing offences of a sexual nature against a minimum of 548 children between 2017 and 2021 inclusively." The study also identified an additional 38 current or former school personnel who were criminally charged for stand-alone child pornography-related offences. Limitations in terms of access to legal cases and disciplinary records, and underreporting by survivors, likely mean the true extent of abuse is vastly greater.
What I'm Encountering.
While no two cases of abuse are ever alike, I have noticed some trends.
Many of the school sexual abuse cases we see are historical. The survivor is most often no longer a student.
In some cases, survivors are questioning whether what happened to them was actually abuse
Moreover, survivors frequently experience guilt if the abuse occurred at a time when they had reached sexual maturity and their bodies responded to the sexual activity in ways that might suggest arousal.
What Can Be Done?
When it comes to sexual abuse, it's not enough to say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Prevention is priceless.
C3P's Commit To Kids Program was designed to assist child-serving organizations in their efforts to reduce the risk of sexual abuse for children in their care.
If the harm has already been done, survivors have numerous options when thinking about what, if anything, they want to do about it. These include filing complaints to regulatory bodies, pursuing criminal charges, and/or filing a civil lawsuit against the perpetrator and any third parties such as the school board whose negligence allowed the abuse to occur.
Deciding if, when and/or how to come forward about the abuse you suffered is a consideration solely for the survivor.
While the decision belongs to the survivor alone, it's important to know that support is available to you both before and after you make it.
